Passenger’s Car Taken for High-Speed Joyride at Gatwick Airport

Sean Beckerleg had dropped his car off to be valeted before departing on vacation, but returned to find it had been taken on a high-speed joyride.

A traveler returning to London Gatwick Airport (LGW) was upset to find that his car had been taken for a ride while he was away on vacation, the Daily Mail reports. Sean Beckerleg left his Audi S3, a car worth £50,000 ($65,349), with LGW’s drop-off valet parking service earlier this month and immediately suspected something was amiss after he noted the mileage on his vehicle.

Beckerleg’s car is equipped with a dashcam and upon checking the footage captured by the device, the 30-year-old was shocked to find that it had been driven down a local highway at a speed of 131 miles per hour. Fortunately for Beckerleg, the footage also clearly shows the staff member responsible for the high-speed joyride, who was caught on camera as he was returning the car to a secure parking area close to the airport.

Commenting on the situation, Beckerleg said, “As soon as anyone switches my car on, it starts recording and it logs lots of different types of information from GPS, Gforce, the miles per hour, the date, time, everything…when I saw him doing 131mph in a 50mph zone I was livid. The roads were clear, but that’s irrelevant.”

“As far as I was concerned I’d gone on holiday and my car was safe. You entrust them with your car, that it’s parked away safely and in an orderly manner. I was not happy – it’s only done 3,000 miles,” he added.

While the car was not damaged in the incident, Beckerleg said that he is considering involving local law enforcement in the matter.

A spokesperson for LGW issued an official apology, saying, “Gatwick Airport, and our car park operator Empark, takes its responsibility to look after vehicles left in our care by passengers very seriously. On this occasion, the high expectations that we have for all staff working across the airport were not met for which we apologize. Once made aware of this matter, Empark contacted the police and are currently supporting their inquiries.”

“The staff member has been identified and has been dismissed,” the official added.